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- Six on Saturday – 27 Feb, 2021
Back again for another Six on Saturday! This week the garden (halfway) wakes up for Spring – Tomatoes and The Lonely Sunflower decide it’s time, while the Ginkgo argues otherwise.
About The Site
Plants can tell us quite a bit about our environment. I like to use plants to figure out what nature is like in the places that I visit. They’re meters, markers, and memories that wait calmly in the earth. I hope this site helps you learn from these plants too.
Schedule
| M | About a particular plant. Whether it’s notes and research on plants in my own garden, or notes on the plants growing in the places I visit – check in for these plant guides and biographies! |
| F | Articles on a Topic. These are typically longform articles that explore nature in a broad or detailed way. |
| S | Six on Saturday. A wonderful blog post format started by The Propagator. It’s a whole lot of fun to keep a garden journal! |
Blogroll
- Six on Saturday – 27 Feb, 2021Back again for another Six on Saturday! This week the garden (halfway) wakes up for Spring – Tomatoes and The Lonely Sunflower decide it’s time, while the Ginkgo argues otherwise.
- Searching for Snow near LAIf you’ve been watching the San Gabriel Mountains north of LA, you’ve seen the snow. I wanted to see the snow up close, and not just through a few dozen miles of pollution. The environment changes completely at 5000 feet altitude, only a few miles off the 210. Find out about the Icehouse Canyon Trail and plan out a trip while there’s still snow!
- Six on Saturday – 20 Feb, 2021Back with another Six on Saturday post! In for this week, we’ve got plants getting ready for Spring – Polka Dots flowering, Sunflower seedlings, Grape cuttings, and Garden Plans.
Growing Guides
- Boston Fern
The Boston Fern is a wonderfully easy houseplant to care for. Keep the soil moist (and don’t let it freeze or boil), and you’ll have a happy plant for a long time to come. Read here to find out more care tips! - Polka Dot Plant
The Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) is a fast-growing, self-seeding, pruning-loving houseplant of many colors. You know them when you see them! Check here for a detailed guide on taking care of them. - Money Tree
The money tree (Pachira aquatica) is a pretty easy houseplant. As long as there’s no drafts and the watering schedule stays constant, it’s a happy tower of green. Find out how to care for one!
Plant Care & General Guides
- Air Purifying Plants
Plants are natural air purifiers. We put out a heck of a lot of carbon, and all plants will help reduce that to some degree. The only issue is that carbon isn’t the only thing we’re putting into the atmosphere. Our atmosphere indoors, where we’re spending so much time, is incredibly important. We put out a few other notable bad chemicals in the course of daily living – ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, trichloroethylene, and xylene. Check here for some plants that can clean your air! - Making Baby Cacti
Succulents (and Cacti) are surprisingly easy to propagate – to make more plants. They can often be grown from cuttings – small pieces of the parent plant that take root. Find out how! - Flushing the Pot
I’ve had a bad habit of watering my plants every 2 to 3 days – when the top layer of dirt was just starting to dry out. I just never followed proper watering techniques – letting some plants dry out a bit more, flushing the soil, and the like.
Walking Around
- The GLOW Fades
After a couple months of GLOW at South Coast Botanic Garden, it’s time to look back at the light and the music. (For those who didn’t attend – it’s a walking / music / plant / light show with a water theme) - Joshua Tree: After Hours
I recently headed over to Joshua Tree, hoping to catch some stars or some snow. Neither of my hopes came true. The sky stayed overcast the whole evening, and the ground dry. And it was perfect and still and I loved every minute. - Plants Named California
Vasquez Rocks Park had some rain recently, and nature went wild. From blooms to berries, this is a look at two plants named after the state that responded nicely. (California Juniper, California Cholla)
Nature Appreciation
- A Little Landscaped Desk
Scotch Moss isn’t actually moss – it’s an evergreen perennial shrub that grows low to the ground. It’s also perfect for a desktop pet plant! - iNaturalist – the Amazing App
Have you ever come across a plant in the wild that you couldn’t identify? An app called iNaturalist may be the easiest way to put a name to a leaf. Join me in a walkthrough of making an observation as I try to identify a strange plant on the coast. - Roundup – January’s End
A look back at what’s happened in January, both in the wider environment and in my own garden. Most notably – the LA smog is back, my garden has new LED grow lights, and South Coast Botanic Garden’s GLOW event is over.
